Life is a series of decisions - forks in the road, if you will. At each juncture, we have the opportunity to go one way or the other, and the choice you make influences everything that happens subsequently. And, unfortunately, there is no "Undo" command for life. Once you make a decision, you've got to face the consequences.
Some of you may be old enough to remember the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books that were popular in the early 1980s. The concept went like this - if you want to make Choice A, turn to page 5, and if you want to make Choice B, turn to page 8. And from there, there were more and more choices to make. Depending on the series of choices you made, either you would successfully complete the adventure, or you would be in big trouble.
Sort of like life, isn't it?
For me, at least, this begs an important question: What if I had made a different choice?
What if I had decided to stay in New York with my father when my mother moved to Florida in 1980? Where would life have taken me then? Would I ever have met my wife, who was born and raised in Miami? (And, interestingly enough, my father and stepmother eventually relocated to Florida - 15 years after I did.)
What if I had decided to go to the University of Florida (which was my first choice) as a probationary student, rather than going to Florida State University (which wasn't) as a regular student? Would I have met Dick Dunham, the psychology professor at FSU who discovered me and started me on the path to my academic career?
What if I had decided to stay in Europe with my Italian girlfriend in 1992, instead of coming back to the States and finishing my bachelor's degree? Would I have ever finished school? Would I have met and married my wife - who is my soulmate? Or would I have stayed with someone who wasn't?
What if I had gone to the University of Guelph, in Ontario, for my Ph.D. instead of coming to Florida International University in Miami? Would I have met my wife, who just happened to be attending FIU at the same time I was? Would I have landed the academic job I have now, which is such a good fit for me? (And as it so happens, the professor who invited me to Guelph got sick with cancer and took an extended leave of absence - during the time I would have been there.)
What if I had forced my wife to move with me to Columbus, Ohio, in 2007 to take a job that was offered to me at Ohio State University? What would have happened to our marriage?
There are a number of schools of thought on this. Some people believe that God has a plan for each of us, and that we are guided toward some choices and away from others. I've always felt that way. But other people feel that we are solely responsible for our choices, and that where we have arrived now is no "better" or "worse" than where we would be had we made a different set of choices.
But all of this is the path not taken.
The next time you have an important life choice to make, be sure you won't be regretting five years later that you hadn't gone another way.
Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed in New York in 1980, or gone to the University of Florida for my degree, or stayed in Europe with someone I now have not seen in nearly 16 years, or gone to Guelph for my Ph.D., or taken that job at Ohio State. But I don't regret not having done any of these things. I'm happy with my life now and with where it has taken me. Wondering and regretting are not the same thing.
What are your paths not taken? Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you'd taken one of those paths? Might you have a different partner, different children, a different job, or a different circle of friends? Might your whole life have been different?
If you believe as I do, after your body dies, in your life review you will have the opportunity to explore where each of these "paths not taken" would have taken you. Would you have been happy with that person you let go of? Would you have wanted to take that job with better pay but that would have required you to move away from everything (and everyone) you've ever known? Should you have approached that guy (or girl) years ago who seemed to be beckoning to you, but whom you were reluctant or afraid to approach?
So there is no reason to regret anything. In good time, you'll have a chance to see what you might have missed - and possibly what you should be happy you avoided.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Leadership
This is the first time I have written a blog entry in over six months. I've been busy, but I have also been collecting my thoughts.
As I watch our presidential candidates parade themselves all over the country and try to convince us why we should elect them as our next president, one important attribute comes to mind - something that we have had precious little of in our government in quite a long time.
Leadership.
Leadership is so powerful that a charismatic leader can get others to believe, and do, just about anything. History is full of examples of people who have transformed whole nations - for good or for bad - and who have convinced others to do things that they never dreamed they would (or could). People like Martin Luther King have changed the course of our country's history by having the courage to put their lives on the line to lead others toward change and progress. Think about presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, who have carried the country on their shoulders during difficult times. We trusted them, and they delivered on their promises.
This is what we need now.
Our country is in trouble because of lack of leadership. Whatever else you might say about George W. Bush, most of us can agree that he is not a leader. Leaders work to unify their followers, to inspire them, and to make clear what the goals are and how we are to achieve them. Has Bush done any of this - at least after the unprecedented wave of patriotism that gripped the nation following September 11th? And what must be done to create the type of leadership that we need to get ourselves out of this mess?
There are many people who believe that it is not in their best interests to protect the environment, or to accept and value others who are different from them, or to follow the Golden Rule. This is because they see the world only in terms of what they want and need, and not in terms of what is good for the country - or for the human race - as a whole. Indeed, in the United States today, a culture has been created that values short-term financial gain over long-term survival, that values political connections over genuine qualifications, and where an "every person for themselves" mindset has prevailed.
We need good leaders to provide the vision to change all of this.
So what are the characteristics of a good leader?
First, a good leader leads by example. If you want others to do something, do it yourself, and offer to show others how to do what you are doing. Most people are smart enough to be able to tell genuine leadership from empty words. If you aren't walking the walk, no one cares if you talk the talk. Martin Luther King didn't just preach tolerance - he lived it. And 40 years after his death, people still follow his lead.
Second, a good leader is open and transparent. If I am an effective leader, you don't have to guess what my motives are. I will simply tell you. Good leaders don't keep secrets from others. They make clear why they are doing what they're doing, and what they hope to gain from it. They have a passion that is contagious, and that doesn't have to be explained. The spiritual masters whose wisdom and teachings are at the heart of the world's major religions - Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Muhammad - didn't have to persuade others to follow them. Others flocked and begged to be in their presence. Their sense of purpose was undeniable, and no one had to ask them what they were doing, or why they were doing it. And hundreds or thousands of years after these masters left the earth, they are still revered, and their teachings are still followed.
Third, a good leader is available. If someone needs wisdom or guidance from you, you should make time to share it with them - no matter how busy you are. Make the time. In my academic career, not once have I have ever turned away a student who wanted to meet with me. Indeed, it is an honor to be called upon to share wisdom, and everyone else's time is just as valuable as yours. If someone else is taking the time to come to you, then you need to reciprocate. Indeed, wisdom, knowledge, and experience are useless unless they are shared with others in times of need.
Fourth, a good leader does not worry about whether she or he is being followed. For those who lead effectively, their behavior would be the same if no one were watching as it would if a million people were following. The actions are taken out of an intrinsic desire to actualize oneself, and others take notice. Indeed, if you are doing something primarily because you want to get noticed, chances are it won't work. My undergraduate mentor, Dick Dunham, told me nearly 15 years ago that the best runners don't worry about their competition - they just run. When you act in accordance with your true self, others will take notice and will want to be in your presence. Why? Because the true self comes from God, and most people want to be around someone who is genuinely connected to God.
Finally, a good leader is unshakable. No matter what happens, a good leader never veers off course - at least not for long. The sense of purpose comes from within - so external events don't change the leader's determination to reach her or his goal. Do you think Martin Luther King changed his message - or shied away from spreading it - because people were trying to kill him? Indeed, he knew he was going to be killed, and yet he focused intensely on sharing his wisdom. Can you imagine the kind of inspiration that this kind of leader creates in others?
There is one important caveat here - and one that may have occurred to you already. The characteristics I listed above can be used to describe leaders like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and John Kennedy - but also leaders like Osama bin Laden and Adolf Hitler. Therefore, it is important to attend not only to the characteristics of the leader, but also to the message that she or he is spreading. Phil Zimbardo, an eminent scholar in social psychology and the lead investigator of the famous Stanford prison experiments back in the 1970s, has a book out called The Lucifer Effect, and I encourage everyone to read it. A charismatic leader can easily galvanize his followers to hate and kill others - witness bin Laden, Hitler, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, and many others. Indeed, many of these men believed that they were doing God's work - and so did their followers. They led by example, they were open and transparent, they were available (at least for those who wanted to follow them), and they were unshakable. And people flocked to be in their presence - and followed their lead, often to the end. So the magnetic power of leadership does not carry with it the assumption that the leader is spreading a "good" message. One of the things that Zimbardo notes in his book is that we need to think critically about whom we choose to follow. Blind obedience - which has been all too common in our collective history - has led to some of the most egregious human rights violations.
For me, the difference between "positive" and "negative" leaders is that "positive" leaders encourage you to question them. Think carefully about what I am saying, and if you think I am wrong, then follow your own heart. Most "negative" leaders do not do this - they seek to exterminate those who do not agree with them. This is the difference we need to look out for.
So what we need now, in this major crossroads for our nation and for our world, is leadership - the kind that will lead others back to themselves. The time for secrets, cronyism, and incompetence is over. We need people who are called to leadership, and who decide to take on the mantle. Let us celebrate these people - and let's follow their lead, as long as our hearts tell us that it is right.
As I watch our presidential candidates parade themselves all over the country and try to convince us why we should elect them as our next president, one important attribute comes to mind - something that we have had precious little of in our government in quite a long time.
Leadership.
Leadership is so powerful that a charismatic leader can get others to believe, and do, just about anything. History is full of examples of people who have transformed whole nations - for good or for bad - and who have convinced others to do things that they never dreamed they would (or could). People like Martin Luther King have changed the course of our country's history by having the courage to put their lives on the line to lead others toward change and progress. Think about presidents like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, who have carried the country on their shoulders during difficult times. We trusted them, and they delivered on their promises.
This is what we need now.
Our country is in trouble because of lack of leadership. Whatever else you might say about George W. Bush, most of us can agree that he is not a leader. Leaders work to unify their followers, to inspire them, and to make clear what the goals are and how we are to achieve them. Has Bush done any of this - at least after the unprecedented wave of patriotism that gripped the nation following September 11th? And what must be done to create the type of leadership that we need to get ourselves out of this mess?
There are many people who believe that it is not in their best interests to protect the environment, or to accept and value others who are different from them, or to follow the Golden Rule. This is because they see the world only in terms of what they want and need, and not in terms of what is good for the country - or for the human race - as a whole. Indeed, in the United States today, a culture has been created that values short-term financial gain over long-term survival, that values political connections over genuine qualifications, and where an "every person for themselves" mindset has prevailed.
We need good leaders to provide the vision to change all of this.
So what are the characteristics of a good leader?
First, a good leader leads by example. If you want others to do something, do it yourself, and offer to show others how to do what you are doing. Most people are smart enough to be able to tell genuine leadership from empty words. If you aren't walking the walk, no one cares if you talk the talk. Martin Luther King didn't just preach tolerance - he lived it. And 40 years after his death, people still follow his lead.
Second, a good leader is open and transparent. If I am an effective leader, you don't have to guess what my motives are. I will simply tell you. Good leaders don't keep secrets from others. They make clear why they are doing what they're doing, and what they hope to gain from it. They have a passion that is contagious, and that doesn't have to be explained. The spiritual masters whose wisdom and teachings are at the heart of the world's major religions - Jesus, Buddha, Moses, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Confucius, Muhammad - didn't have to persuade others to follow them. Others flocked and begged to be in their presence. Their sense of purpose was undeniable, and no one had to ask them what they were doing, or why they were doing it. And hundreds or thousands of years after these masters left the earth, they are still revered, and their teachings are still followed.
Third, a good leader is available. If someone needs wisdom or guidance from you, you should make time to share it with them - no matter how busy you are. Make the time. In my academic career, not once have I have ever turned away a student who wanted to meet with me. Indeed, it is an honor to be called upon to share wisdom, and everyone else's time is just as valuable as yours. If someone else is taking the time to come to you, then you need to reciprocate. Indeed, wisdom, knowledge, and experience are useless unless they are shared with others in times of need.
Fourth, a good leader does not worry about whether she or he is being followed. For those who lead effectively, their behavior would be the same if no one were watching as it would if a million people were following. The actions are taken out of an intrinsic desire to actualize oneself, and others take notice. Indeed, if you are doing something primarily because you want to get noticed, chances are it won't work. My undergraduate mentor, Dick Dunham, told me nearly 15 years ago that the best runners don't worry about their competition - they just run. When you act in accordance with your true self, others will take notice and will want to be in your presence. Why? Because the true self comes from God, and most people want to be around someone who is genuinely connected to God.
Finally, a good leader is unshakable. No matter what happens, a good leader never veers off course - at least not for long. The sense of purpose comes from within - so external events don't change the leader's determination to reach her or his goal. Do you think Martin Luther King changed his message - or shied away from spreading it - because people were trying to kill him? Indeed, he knew he was going to be killed, and yet he focused intensely on sharing his wisdom. Can you imagine the kind of inspiration that this kind of leader creates in others?
There is one important caveat here - and one that may have occurred to you already. The characteristics I listed above can be used to describe leaders like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and John Kennedy - but also leaders like Osama bin Laden and Adolf Hitler. Therefore, it is important to attend not only to the characteristics of the leader, but also to the message that she or he is spreading. Phil Zimbardo, an eminent scholar in social psychology and the lead investigator of the famous Stanford prison experiments back in the 1970s, has a book out called The Lucifer Effect, and I encourage everyone to read it. A charismatic leader can easily galvanize his followers to hate and kill others - witness bin Laden, Hitler, Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, and many others. Indeed, many of these men believed that they were doing God's work - and so did their followers. They led by example, they were open and transparent, they were available (at least for those who wanted to follow them), and they were unshakable. And people flocked to be in their presence - and followed their lead, often to the end. So the magnetic power of leadership does not carry with it the assumption that the leader is spreading a "good" message. One of the things that Zimbardo notes in his book is that we need to think critically about whom we choose to follow. Blind obedience - which has been all too common in our collective history - has led to some of the most egregious human rights violations.
For me, the difference between "positive" and "negative" leaders is that "positive" leaders encourage you to question them. Think carefully about what I am saying, and if you think I am wrong, then follow your own heart. Most "negative" leaders do not do this - they seek to exterminate those who do not agree with them. This is the difference we need to look out for.
So what we need now, in this major crossroads for our nation and for our world, is leadership - the kind that will lead others back to themselves. The time for secrets, cronyism, and incompetence is over. We need people who are called to leadership, and who decide to take on the mantle. Let us celebrate these people - and let's follow their lead, as long as our hearts tell us that it is right.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Why Do People Hate Each Other????
Why does genocide occur?
Why do people vow to kill others they've never met?
Why do people from different religions curse one another?
Why can't we all just get along?
To get our species past these problems, we first need to understand where they come from.
To quote my colleague Steven Baum at the University of New Mexico, who is much more of an authority on this than I am, this is not about anger. It isn't really about hatred either. It's about something much more fundamental - much more basic.
Differences.
From the beginning of time, humans have had difficulty accepting differences. If someone is different from me, then they have to be better or worse. The phrase "separate but equal" has never been a part of our collective history.
Steve Baum and another colleague of mine, David Moshman at the University of Nebraska, explain this in exquisite detail, and in elegant simplicity, in their writings. I urge you to consult their books and journal articles for a much more in-depth treatment of why people just cannot seem to get along. Dave Moshman has a great article that just came out in the journal Identity, and it should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand genocide. If you want a copy, email him at dmoshman1@unl.edu.
But I will do my best to explain it here, in my own words. Hatred, genocide, and terrorism all start with differences. I am an X, and you are a Y. You can substitute any groups you want for X and Y, and the same principles hold. You are different from me, and different must mean better or worse. All too often in our history, different has meant inferior. My group is better than your group. Sounds like a third grader taunting another third grader, doesn't it?
One of my major academic interests is in identity, and identity goes a long way toward explaining genocide, terrorism, and other forms of inter-group violence and hatred. Social identity theory, originated by Henri Tajfel in the late 1970s, holds that people derive much of their self-worth from the groups they belong to. The groups that I belong to are called "ingroups," and the groups that I don't belong to are called "outgroups." The more I identify with the ingroup, the more I will believe that it is deserving of favoritism and all of the good things in life, and the more I will believe that the relevant outgroups (other religions, other countries, et cetera) deserve the short end of the stick - discrimination, misery, or worse.
Osama bin Laden was once quoted as saying that the Middle East was God's favorite part of the world. This is a perfect example of the principle I'm illustrating here. Do you really think that God, who created everything that exists, would single out one subcontinent as "better" than everything else? Or is this just social identity principles at work? Many Americans think that the United States holds a special place in God's favor. Is this any different? As I alluded to in my August 6th posting, Americans believe that the United States deserves God's favor and that terrorists and insurgents in the Middle East deserve God's punishment - and many in the Middle East think they have God's favor and that we are evil. So who is right? Or is this ALL a function of social identity dynamics, having little or nothing to do with God at all?
Once people have been separated into ingroups and outgroups, the next step is to determine how much of a threat each outgroup is to the ingroup. These threats do not have to be physical - in fact, cultural threats are often more salient than physical ones. The United States and Al Qaeda each regard the other as a threat to its existence and to its very way of life. The spread of Western - largely American - culture into the Middle East is regarded as a grave threat to the traditional principles and lifestyle cherished by fundamentalists in that part of the world. Images of scantily clad women, expletive-filled music, and rebellious young people - all strongly associated with Western cultures - run completely counter to traditional cultures where women are expected to be modest and subservient, and where young people are supposed to be respectful and to defer to their elders. So, in essence, our culture represents a strong threat to the values that some fundamentalists seek to defend and preserve.
I have to stop and give my own opinion here. I think that most fundamentalist ideologies - not just Islamic but also from other religions as well - are demeaning and disrespectful to women and are so rigid that they simply do not work well with today's technological and interdependent world. At the same time, however, our culture is disrespectful in many ways. The sense of entitlement that today's young people seem to have is disgraceful - and the way in which many of them talk to their parents is even worse. All of this is, of course, depicted in our movies, our television shows, our magazines, and our websites. And, as we know, the rest of the world is constantly bombarded with American media influences. So this is one of the reasons why we are perceived as a threat in other parts of the wold.
Once an outgroup is perceived as a threat, the next step is dehumanization. Outgroup members are, in the eyes of the ingroup, stripped of their humanity - and they become a single entity, a single mass of evil that must be destroyed. Although I am both an individual and a member of a group, my individuality no longer matters to those who regard me as a member of the outgroup. "Americans," "Jews," "Blacks," and other groups become single entitites that are regarded with disdain - or worse.
Dehumanization also allows outgroups to be scapegoated. Scapegoating occurs when a single group is blamed for all of the problems facing a country, region, religion, et cetera. Differences between the ingroup and outgroup are exaggerared, and similaties are minimized, so that our association with the outgroup is greatly reduced. They are no longer like us in any way, and they are a "cancer" that must be eliminated. (This is the exact word that Slobodan Milosevic, former prime minister of Yugoslavia, used as justification for the "ethnic cleansing" that occurred in the Balkans during the 1990s.) This is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany, and this is why so many German citizens not only let the Holocaust happen - they participated in it. The Jews were the problem. They were the reason why the German economy was in ruins, the reason why other Germans did not have what they wanted or needed. It was all because of the Jews.
Clearly, scapegoating is a useful way for charismatic or oppressive leaders to focus public anger away from themselves and toward someone else. Just like a bully deflecting negative attention away from himself and toward another child, these leaders blame the outgroup for all of the problems that the ingroup (country, religion, ethnic group) is facing. Oppressive Middle Eastern regimes do this all the time - and often we are the scapegoat. This allows them to deny the most basic freedoms to their people - and not to have to take responsibility for it.
Once an outgroup has been dehumanized and scapegoated, ingroup members are free to maim and kill members of the outgroup with impunity. It has now become a battle between "us" and "them," where "we" are better, morally right, favored by God, and justified in doing whatever we have to do to put "them" in their place - or get rid of them altogether. In Rwanda, the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups refer to one another as "cockroaches." Religious fundamentalists often label others who don't share their beliefs as "sinners," "infidels," and "heretics." Especially in cases of religious groups, we believe we have God on our side - and that the outgroup doesn't.
And then, as Dave Moshman and Steve Baum outline so eloquently in their work, after the genocide has been completed, we deny that it ever happened.
Most people don't even know that the Taino were the original inhabitants of many Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Hispaniola. The Taino were wiped out by Christopher Columbus and his men, and then the whole thing was covered up. The Taino disappeared from history.
The Holocaust occurred less than 70 years ago, and already people are trying to deny that it ever happened. This is despite the fact that there are still people alive who survived it. Not only people from other countries - like Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - but also some in our own country, have claimed that the Holocaust was a myth. Have these people ever talked to a Holocaust survivor? Have they ever seen Schindler's List? Have they ever visited the sites where the concentration camps once stood?
First we separate, then we dehumanize, then we destroy, and finally we deny.
This is what is behind genocide, terrorism, religious persecution, and a host of other problems facing our species today. This is what we will have to get past if we are to advance as a species - and if we are to stave off the major calamities that have been forecast in the next 50 years, including extinction.
If we are to survive as a species - and if we are to even have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, we will have to stop doing this to each other, and to ourselves.
We will have to hear God's message, sent through every prophet, master, and religious figure who has come to give us wisdom and direction:
WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
WE MUST LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS - AND WE ARE ALL NEIGHBORS.
WE ALL SHARE THE SAME HOME - THE HOME THAT GOD GAVE US TO STEWARD AND PROTECT.
When we allow these destructive social identity dynamics to take hold of us, we turn away from the eternal wisdom that has been given to us, and we allow our differences to divide us. Until we realize that different does not mean better or worse, that each of us is both an individual person and a member of a group, and that God loves all of us equally, the horrors that we have foisted upon ourselves will continue to occur.
Why do people vow to kill others they've never met?
Why do people from different religions curse one another?
Why can't we all just get along?
To get our species past these problems, we first need to understand where they come from.
To quote my colleague Steven Baum at the University of New Mexico, who is much more of an authority on this than I am, this is not about anger. It isn't really about hatred either. It's about something much more fundamental - much more basic.
Differences.
From the beginning of time, humans have had difficulty accepting differences. If someone is different from me, then they have to be better or worse. The phrase "separate but equal" has never been a part of our collective history.
Steve Baum and another colleague of mine, David Moshman at the University of Nebraska, explain this in exquisite detail, and in elegant simplicity, in their writings. I urge you to consult their books and journal articles for a much more in-depth treatment of why people just cannot seem to get along. Dave Moshman has a great article that just came out in the journal Identity, and it should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand genocide. If you want a copy, email him at dmoshman1@unl.edu.
But I will do my best to explain it here, in my own words. Hatred, genocide, and terrorism all start with differences. I am an X, and you are a Y. You can substitute any groups you want for X and Y, and the same principles hold. You are different from me, and different must mean better or worse. All too often in our history, different has meant inferior. My group is better than your group. Sounds like a third grader taunting another third grader, doesn't it?
One of my major academic interests is in identity, and identity goes a long way toward explaining genocide, terrorism, and other forms of inter-group violence and hatred. Social identity theory, originated by Henri Tajfel in the late 1970s, holds that people derive much of their self-worth from the groups they belong to. The groups that I belong to are called "ingroups," and the groups that I don't belong to are called "outgroups." The more I identify with the ingroup, the more I will believe that it is deserving of favoritism and all of the good things in life, and the more I will believe that the relevant outgroups (other religions, other countries, et cetera) deserve the short end of the stick - discrimination, misery, or worse.
Osama bin Laden was once quoted as saying that the Middle East was God's favorite part of the world. This is a perfect example of the principle I'm illustrating here. Do you really think that God, who created everything that exists, would single out one subcontinent as "better" than everything else? Or is this just social identity principles at work? Many Americans think that the United States holds a special place in God's favor. Is this any different? As I alluded to in my August 6th posting, Americans believe that the United States deserves God's favor and that terrorists and insurgents in the Middle East deserve God's punishment - and many in the Middle East think they have God's favor and that we are evil. So who is right? Or is this ALL a function of social identity dynamics, having little or nothing to do with God at all?
Once people have been separated into ingroups and outgroups, the next step is to determine how much of a threat each outgroup is to the ingroup. These threats do not have to be physical - in fact, cultural threats are often more salient than physical ones. The United States and Al Qaeda each regard the other as a threat to its existence and to its very way of life. The spread of Western - largely American - culture into the Middle East is regarded as a grave threat to the traditional principles and lifestyle cherished by fundamentalists in that part of the world. Images of scantily clad women, expletive-filled music, and rebellious young people - all strongly associated with Western cultures - run completely counter to traditional cultures where women are expected to be modest and subservient, and where young people are supposed to be respectful and to defer to their elders. So, in essence, our culture represents a strong threat to the values that some fundamentalists seek to defend and preserve.
I have to stop and give my own opinion here. I think that most fundamentalist ideologies - not just Islamic but also from other religions as well - are demeaning and disrespectful to women and are so rigid that they simply do not work well with today's technological and interdependent world. At the same time, however, our culture is disrespectful in many ways. The sense of entitlement that today's young people seem to have is disgraceful - and the way in which many of them talk to their parents is even worse. All of this is, of course, depicted in our movies, our television shows, our magazines, and our websites. And, as we know, the rest of the world is constantly bombarded with American media influences. So this is one of the reasons why we are perceived as a threat in other parts of the wold.
Once an outgroup is perceived as a threat, the next step is dehumanization. Outgroup members are, in the eyes of the ingroup, stripped of their humanity - and they become a single entity, a single mass of evil that must be destroyed. Although I am both an individual and a member of a group, my individuality no longer matters to those who regard me as a member of the outgroup. "Americans," "Jews," "Blacks," and other groups become single entitites that are regarded with disdain - or worse.
Dehumanization also allows outgroups to be scapegoated. Scapegoating occurs when a single group is blamed for all of the problems facing a country, region, religion, et cetera. Differences between the ingroup and outgroup are exaggerared, and similaties are minimized, so that our association with the outgroup is greatly reduced. They are no longer like us in any way, and they are a "cancer" that must be eliminated. (This is the exact word that Slobodan Milosevic, former prime minister of Yugoslavia, used as justification for the "ethnic cleansing" that occurred in the Balkans during the 1990s.) This is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany, and this is why so many German citizens not only let the Holocaust happen - they participated in it. The Jews were the problem. They were the reason why the German economy was in ruins, the reason why other Germans did not have what they wanted or needed. It was all because of the Jews.
Clearly, scapegoating is a useful way for charismatic or oppressive leaders to focus public anger away from themselves and toward someone else. Just like a bully deflecting negative attention away from himself and toward another child, these leaders blame the outgroup for all of the problems that the ingroup (country, religion, ethnic group) is facing. Oppressive Middle Eastern regimes do this all the time - and often we are the scapegoat. This allows them to deny the most basic freedoms to their people - and not to have to take responsibility for it.
Once an outgroup has been dehumanized and scapegoated, ingroup members are free to maim and kill members of the outgroup with impunity. It has now become a battle between "us" and "them," where "we" are better, morally right, favored by God, and justified in doing whatever we have to do to put "them" in their place - or get rid of them altogether. In Rwanda, the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups refer to one another as "cockroaches." Religious fundamentalists often label others who don't share their beliefs as "sinners," "infidels," and "heretics." Especially in cases of religious groups, we believe we have God on our side - and that the outgroup doesn't.
And then, as Dave Moshman and Steve Baum outline so eloquently in their work, after the genocide has been completed, we deny that it ever happened.
Most people don't even know that the Taino were the original inhabitants of many Caribbean islands, including Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Hispaniola. The Taino were wiped out by Christopher Columbus and his men, and then the whole thing was covered up. The Taino disappeared from history.
The Holocaust occurred less than 70 years ago, and already people are trying to deny that it ever happened. This is despite the fact that there are still people alive who survived it. Not only people from other countries - like Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - but also some in our own country, have claimed that the Holocaust was a myth. Have these people ever talked to a Holocaust survivor? Have they ever seen Schindler's List? Have they ever visited the sites where the concentration camps once stood?
First we separate, then we dehumanize, then we destroy, and finally we deny.
This is what is behind genocide, terrorism, religious persecution, and a host of other problems facing our species today. This is what we will have to get past if we are to advance as a species - and if we are to stave off the major calamities that have been forecast in the next 50 years, including extinction.
If we are to survive as a species - and if we are to even have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, we will have to stop doing this to each other, and to ourselves.
We will have to hear God's message, sent through every prophet, master, and religious figure who has come to give us wisdom and direction:
WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
WE MUST LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS - AND WE ARE ALL NEIGHBORS.
WE ALL SHARE THE SAME HOME - THE HOME THAT GOD GAVE US TO STEWARD AND PROTECT.
When we allow these destructive social identity dynamics to take hold of us, we turn away from the eternal wisdom that has been given to us, and we allow our differences to divide us. Until we realize that different does not mean better or worse, that each of us is both an individual person and a member of a group, and that God loves all of us equally, the horrors that we have foisted upon ourselves will continue to occur.
We cannot afford to let this keep happening.
Will we wake up before it's too late? And what will each of us do to make sure that we do?
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
What Does it Mean to be American?
Yesterday, I said some things that may have made me look unpatriotic to some. Let me clarify.
I am not unpatriotic at all. I love the United States and would not live anywhere else. But that does not stop me - and nor should it stop anyone else - from expressing opinions.
There are many countries in the world where speaking out against the government would get you thrown in jail, or worse. We are not one of those countries.
Some people believe that saying anything negative about the current administration, or about what it is doing, is being unpatriotic. That sentiment has become more popular since the horrific events of September 11, 2001.
Patriotism is taking advantage of the freedoms that this wonderful country affords us.
Patriotism is loving our country enough to be concerned about the direction it is going in.
Patriotism is taking the time to think of a better way, and sharing it with others.
Saying that I disagree with George W. Bush's administration, and with the decisions that Bush and his people have made, is not unpatriotic. It is expressing a heartfelt opinion - and thousands of Americans have died to give us this freedom.
What is unpatriotic is trying to censor other people in the name of patriotism!! Calling people demeaning names ("liberals" is one of my favorites) and trying to shut them up is not patriotic - and it is not the American way. In the America I know, we listen to other people, even if we disagree, and then we respond in a respectful way. Our Founding Fathers declared independence from King George precisely to grant us these - and other - important rights.
We are at a defining moment in our nation's history. With the Bush administration doing damage that will take up to 50 years to repair, we need to take a long look at who we are as a country. What is America? What do we stand for? Are we a country where vital government appointments go to political cronies with no relevant experience? Are we a country where we make "friends" with countries that sponsor terrorism - just so we can buy oil? Are we a country that launches unprovoked attacks on other nations in the name of "preemptive war"? Are we a country where we listen to different points of view - or are we a country where those who don't agree with the official government position are labeled as "unpatriotic", "liberals", or worse? Are we really a nation of freedom, or is that just a catchphrase?
The Crises Facing Our Country
Our country has changed in so many ways in the past 50 years. We have become more culturally diverse as a nation, and technology has allowed us to communicate with people on the other side of the world in real time - almost as though they were across the street from us. The oceans that surround us no longer separate us from the rest of the world. The interdependence of the modern world is something we cannot avoid.
There are a number of important issues that face us now, and the decisions we make as a society regarding the issues will define who we are as a country. I'll go over some of them here.
EDUCATION
One of the most important issues facing us is how we educate our children. Fifty years ago, we were one of the top countries in the world in terms of education. Now we rank below most other post-industrial countries in terms of what our children know and the careers they are prepared for.
Why is this? What has gone wrong?
I believe that one of the problems is a focus on memorization and obedience rather than on critical thinking. We learn important things in math, science, history, and other subjects not because it is important to memorize these things, but because important life skills come out of these areas!! History is important to learn so we don't repeat mistakes made in the past. Science is important to learn so we understand how the universe works, and how we can best steward our planet. Math is important to learn so that we can solve life problems - like balancing a checkbook, negotiating a business transaction, et cetera.
The emphasis should be placed on SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE, not FACTS. Knowing who started World War II is less important than understanding why it started. Memorizing the periodic table is less important than understanding the effects of carbon dioxide on our atmosphere. And even where we are asking our children to memorize facts, they are not doing it as well as they used to. When half of all high school seniors cannot find their home state on a map of the United States, we know we are in trouble.
I would argue that helping students understand - not just memorize - what they are learning will result in more effective teaching and learning. Why not ask students to tell us why they think World War II started? Why not have exercises in decision making, such as asking students to decide what they would do if they were John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis, or if they were Franklin D. Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor? We are training the next generation of leaders in our country, and some of them will have to make these decisions.
HEALTH CARE
We are truly facing a crisis in our health care system. A network of for-profit companies are in charge of our health, and as many of us have experienced, the responsibility to pay dividends to stockholders often trumps the responsibility to care for the citizens whose lives are entrusted to these companies. We are the ONLY advanced country on Earth that has no universal health care system. The health insurance industry is a racket, and the losers are the American people - at least those who don't own stock in a health insurance company.
"Well," people often say, national health services are terrible. "People in Canada, Great Britain, and elsewhere get off of the National Health Service and get a private doctor whenever they can afford it." Well, even if that is true, there are millions of people who cannot afford health insurance, and who are left out in the cold. A national health service would, at the least, serve as a safety net for people who have no other options. There is NO excuse for pregnant women not receiving prenatal care, for children not getting the medical care they need, and for elderly people being stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills that they cannot pay. If we are as civilized a country as we say we are, then we need to make sure that our citizens are cared for.
I would be willing to pay more taxes if it meant that my fellow citizens and I would be covered in the event of a major medical emergency, if it meant that no sick child would go untreated, and if it meant that no senior citizen would be kicked out of a nursing home because her or his insurance benefit had expired. Never again would a barely-conscious person be asked - in an ambulance, no less - whether she or he had health insurance. Never again would parents of sick children have to beg strangers for money to pay for the care that their child needs. I would be willing to pay more taxes if these horrible, inexcusable things were guaranteed never to happen again.
Would you?
IMMIGRATION
Our nation was founded on immigration. Everyone in this country who is not a full-blooded Native American is a product of immigration. Immigrants have been the lifeblood of this country for over 200 years - and in many cases, they are willing to do the types of jobs that Americans are less willing to do. Whether it was the Irish working on the railroads in the 1800s, East European immigrants working in sweat shops in the early 1900s, or Latin American and Asian immigrants overcoming the odds today, America has always been a place where people could build their dreams.
The bottom line is that we need a sensible immigration policy. We, as a nation of people, need to decide how we want to welcome newcomers to our country.
The issue of illegal immigration is a "hot button" today. Like many Americans, I have mixed feelings about illegal immigration. We are a nation of laws, and I wholeheartedly agree that we should not reward people for breaking the law. At the group level, "they" should not be here.
At the individual level, though, I must admit that I feel differently. I remember going to Tijuana almost 10 years ago and seeing the desperation on people's faces. I remember a little girl, not more than five years old, begging for money in the street. I remember people looking wistfully over the border to California, knowing that life would be so much better there.
I have a friend who came here as an illegal immigrant. He escaped a dictatorial, genocidal regime in Latin America and hitched rides all the way to Mexico, not knowing whether he would survive the journey. He swam across the Rio Grande and laid low in California for several years. He eventually married a U.S. citizen and is now a citizen himself - and a university professor.
When this man told me his story, it was clear that he didn't have much of a choice but to flee his country. The police had barged into his house in the middle of the night several times and had threatened to kill his entire family. The United States, however, had just received a large wave of immigrants and refugees from this country and was not willing to give my friend a visa at that time. So he risked his life to come here, and then he sent for his mother, father, brother, and sister.
Stories like this make me - and others, I'm sure - think differently about illegal immigrants than just labeling them as a bunch of criminals. My father asked me once, "Why do these people come here when they should stay in their own countries and solve the problems there?" This is a great question - but it assumes that these people have the ability to affect change in their home countries. In many Third World countries, either you are filthy rich or you are dirt poor. And the poor have no power - none at all. Peasants in Latin America have as much chance of changing the social systems there as I do of winning the lottery. It's possible, but it isn't likely.
So, you see, there are two dramatically opposing sides to this debate. There is the "group" level, where we are the concerned citizens and they are the lawbreakers. And then there is the "individual" level, where stories like my friend's make us think again.
What is the solution to this? I cannot say that I have an answer, but I suspect that the most viable solution lies in reexamining our legal immigration policies. Are we letting in as many people as we could or should? Are people getting in within a reasonable period of time? And are we being fair about letting in people from different countries - or are we playing favorites? I don't have the answers, but whetever the answers are, we should take another look. We are a country of laws, but we are also a country of compassion - or at least we used to be.
IN CLOSING
What do YOU think America should be? Are we closer to that goal than we were 10, 15, or 20 years ago, or are we further away? If you had your choice, who would the next president be? What policies do we need to put into place to become the country that our people want us to be? How do we recover from the disastrous Iraq war, the moralistic divisiveness that pervades our nation, and the loss of respect from the rest of the world? Remember that America has led the world for more than 50 years, and the examples that we set will greatly influence what others choose to do.
If we announce that we have the right to strike any country, at any time, that we think is a threat to us, what example does that set for other nations? Will that create more peace among us - or will it hasten our extinction from this planet? (It only takes the wrong group, with the wrong set of weapons, to destroy most of life on this planet as we know it.)
If our president says one thing and does another, what example does that set for the world? If you were in another country, what would you think of the United States today?
As Benjamin Barber says in his book Fear's Empire, we cannot go it alone in an interdependent world. Everything that happens in one part of the planet affects everything else, everywhere else. The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica didn't come from activities occurring there - it came from what was being done on other parts of the planet. We truly are in an interdependent world, and for us to restore our rightful place as leader, we need to set the appropriate examples.
Will we do this? Or will we continue spiraling downward?
Only WE can answer that question.
I am not unpatriotic at all. I love the United States and would not live anywhere else. But that does not stop me - and nor should it stop anyone else - from expressing opinions.
There are many countries in the world where speaking out against the government would get you thrown in jail, or worse. We are not one of those countries.
Some people believe that saying anything negative about the current administration, or about what it is doing, is being unpatriotic. That sentiment has become more popular since the horrific events of September 11, 2001.
Patriotism is taking advantage of the freedoms that this wonderful country affords us.
Patriotism is loving our country enough to be concerned about the direction it is going in.
Patriotism is taking the time to think of a better way, and sharing it with others.
Saying that I disagree with George W. Bush's administration, and with the decisions that Bush and his people have made, is not unpatriotic. It is expressing a heartfelt opinion - and thousands of Americans have died to give us this freedom.
What is unpatriotic is trying to censor other people in the name of patriotism!! Calling people demeaning names ("liberals" is one of my favorites) and trying to shut them up is not patriotic - and it is not the American way. In the America I know, we listen to other people, even if we disagree, and then we respond in a respectful way. Our Founding Fathers declared independence from King George precisely to grant us these - and other - important rights.
We are at a defining moment in our nation's history. With the Bush administration doing damage that will take up to 50 years to repair, we need to take a long look at who we are as a country. What is America? What do we stand for? Are we a country where vital government appointments go to political cronies with no relevant experience? Are we a country where we make "friends" with countries that sponsor terrorism - just so we can buy oil? Are we a country that launches unprovoked attacks on other nations in the name of "preemptive war"? Are we a country where we listen to different points of view - or are we a country where those who don't agree with the official government position are labeled as "unpatriotic", "liberals", or worse? Are we really a nation of freedom, or is that just a catchphrase?
The Crises Facing Our Country
Our country has changed in so many ways in the past 50 years. We have become more culturally diverse as a nation, and technology has allowed us to communicate with people on the other side of the world in real time - almost as though they were across the street from us. The oceans that surround us no longer separate us from the rest of the world. The interdependence of the modern world is something we cannot avoid.
There are a number of important issues that face us now, and the decisions we make as a society regarding the issues will define who we are as a country. I'll go over some of them here.
EDUCATION
One of the most important issues facing us is how we educate our children. Fifty years ago, we were one of the top countries in the world in terms of education. Now we rank below most other post-industrial countries in terms of what our children know and the careers they are prepared for.
Why is this? What has gone wrong?
I believe that one of the problems is a focus on memorization and obedience rather than on critical thinking. We learn important things in math, science, history, and other subjects not because it is important to memorize these things, but because important life skills come out of these areas!! History is important to learn so we don't repeat mistakes made in the past. Science is important to learn so we understand how the universe works, and how we can best steward our planet. Math is important to learn so that we can solve life problems - like balancing a checkbook, negotiating a business transaction, et cetera.
The emphasis should be placed on SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE, not FACTS. Knowing who started World War II is less important than understanding why it started. Memorizing the periodic table is less important than understanding the effects of carbon dioxide on our atmosphere. And even where we are asking our children to memorize facts, they are not doing it as well as they used to. When half of all high school seniors cannot find their home state on a map of the United States, we know we are in trouble.
I would argue that helping students understand - not just memorize - what they are learning will result in more effective teaching and learning. Why not ask students to tell us why they think World War II started? Why not have exercises in decision making, such as asking students to decide what they would do if they were John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis, or if they were Franklin D. Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor? We are training the next generation of leaders in our country, and some of them will have to make these decisions.
HEALTH CARE
We are truly facing a crisis in our health care system. A network of for-profit companies are in charge of our health, and as many of us have experienced, the responsibility to pay dividends to stockholders often trumps the responsibility to care for the citizens whose lives are entrusted to these companies. We are the ONLY advanced country on Earth that has no universal health care system. The health insurance industry is a racket, and the losers are the American people - at least those who don't own stock in a health insurance company.
"Well," people often say, national health services are terrible. "People in Canada, Great Britain, and elsewhere get off of the National Health Service and get a private doctor whenever they can afford it." Well, even if that is true, there are millions of people who cannot afford health insurance, and who are left out in the cold. A national health service would, at the least, serve as a safety net for people who have no other options. There is NO excuse for pregnant women not receiving prenatal care, for children not getting the medical care they need, and for elderly people being stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills that they cannot pay. If we are as civilized a country as we say we are, then we need to make sure that our citizens are cared for.
I would be willing to pay more taxes if it meant that my fellow citizens and I would be covered in the event of a major medical emergency, if it meant that no sick child would go untreated, and if it meant that no senior citizen would be kicked out of a nursing home because her or his insurance benefit had expired. Never again would a barely-conscious person be asked - in an ambulance, no less - whether she or he had health insurance. Never again would parents of sick children have to beg strangers for money to pay for the care that their child needs. I would be willing to pay more taxes if these horrible, inexcusable things were guaranteed never to happen again.
Would you?
IMMIGRATION
Our nation was founded on immigration. Everyone in this country who is not a full-blooded Native American is a product of immigration. Immigrants have been the lifeblood of this country for over 200 years - and in many cases, they are willing to do the types of jobs that Americans are less willing to do. Whether it was the Irish working on the railroads in the 1800s, East European immigrants working in sweat shops in the early 1900s, or Latin American and Asian immigrants overcoming the odds today, America has always been a place where people could build their dreams.
The bottom line is that we need a sensible immigration policy. We, as a nation of people, need to decide how we want to welcome newcomers to our country.
The issue of illegal immigration is a "hot button" today. Like many Americans, I have mixed feelings about illegal immigration. We are a nation of laws, and I wholeheartedly agree that we should not reward people for breaking the law. At the group level, "they" should not be here.
At the individual level, though, I must admit that I feel differently. I remember going to Tijuana almost 10 years ago and seeing the desperation on people's faces. I remember a little girl, not more than five years old, begging for money in the street. I remember people looking wistfully over the border to California, knowing that life would be so much better there.
I have a friend who came here as an illegal immigrant. He escaped a dictatorial, genocidal regime in Latin America and hitched rides all the way to Mexico, not knowing whether he would survive the journey. He swam across the Rio Grande and laid low in California for several years. He eventually married a U.S. citizen and is now a citizen himself - and a university professor.
When this man told me his story, it was clear that he didn't have much of a choice but to flee his country. The police had barged into his house in the middle of the night several times and had threatened to kill his entire family. The United States, however, had just received a large wave of immigrants and refugees from this country and was not willing to give my friend a visa at that time. So he risked his life to come here, and then he sent for his mother, father, brother, and sister.
Stories like this make me - and others, I'm sure - think differently about illegal immigrants than just labeling them as a bunch of criminals. My father asked me once, "Why do these people come here when they should stay in their own countries and solve the problems there?" This is a great question - but it assumes that these people have the ability to affect change in their home countries. In many Third World countries, either you are filthy rich or you are dirt poor. And the poor have no power - none at all. Peasants in Latin America have as much chance of changing the social systems there as I do of winning the lottery. It's possible, but it isn't likely.
So, you see, there are two dramatically opposing sides to this debate. There is the "group" level, where we are the concerned citizens and they are the lawbreakers. And then there is the "individual" level, where stories like my friend's make us think again.
What is the solution to this? I cannot say that I have an answer, but I suspect that the most viable solution lies in reexamining our legal immigration policies. Are we letting in as many people as we could or should? Are people getting in within a reasonable period of time? And are we being fair about letting in people from different countries - or are we playing favorites? I don't have the answers, but whetever the answers are, we should take another look. We are a country of laws, but we are also a country of compassion - or at least we used to be.
IN CLOSING
What do YOU think America should be? Are we closer to that goal than we were 10, 15, or 20 years ago, or are we further away? If you had your choice, who would the next president be? What policies do we need to put into place to become the country that our people want us to be? How do we recover from the disastrous Iraq war, the moralistic divisiveness that pervades our nation, and the loss of respect from the rest of the world? Remember that America has led the world for more than 50 years, and the examples that we set will greatly influence what others choose to do.
If we announce that we have the right to strike any country, at any time, that we think is a threat to us, what example does that set for other nations? Will that create more peace among us - or will it hasten our extinction from this planet? (It only takes the wrong group, with the wrong set of weapons, to destroy most of life on this planet as we know it.)
If our president says one thing and does another, what example does that set for the world? If you were in another country, what would you think of the United States today?
As Benjamin Barber says in his book Fear's Empire, we cannot go it alone in an interdependent world. Everything that happens in one part of the planet affects everything else, everywhere else. The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica didn't come from activities occurring there - it came from what was being done on other parts of the planet. We truly are in an interdependent world, and for us to restore our rightful place as leader, we need to set the appropriate examples.
Will we do this? Or will we continue spiraling downward?
Only WE can answer that question.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Taking Responsibility
Have you looked around our world lately? Have you seen the news? Do you ever wonder why all of it is so bad?
It is because WE DON'T CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER.
When you read about a baby with leukemia, or children in Africa who have only dirty water to drink, or parents dying of AIDS and leaving young children to fend for themselves, or people being killed just because they are the wrong skin color or religion or nationality, what is your reaction?
Do you ever think that this world could be DIFFERENT?
Do you ever think that there is ANOTHER WAY?
Do you ever think that maybe there is another way to live besides being afraid of the person next door, or watching the person in front of you throw trash out the window of his car, or reading about how yet another terrorist wants to kill everyone who believes something other than what he believes?
Is THIS what God intended when S/He created us?
Some people have tried to convince me that God INTENDED it to be this way - and that Satan is responsible for all of the “bad stuff” that happens to us.
No, I say. WE are responsible. Satan makes for a nice scapegoat – but that is all he is: a scapegoat. What happens to us is a result of choices we make, both individually and collectively. Satan is just an excuse. The devil made me do it.
Let me say that again, just for emphasis. Satan is an excuse.
Consider these examples. Many Israelis think that the Palestinians are evil, murderous aggressors. Many Palestinians think exactly the same thing about the Israelis.
We think that Al Qaeda is out to destroy us and our way of life. They think the same about us.
Who is right here? Who is Satan in these examples?
The answer is both – and neither. Satan is the part of ourselves we don’t want to see and don’t want to take responsibility for. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung said this over and over again in his writings. It’s much easier to blame something outside ourselves for our failures. It’s much harder to take responsibility.
With every choice comes consequences – and with every choice comes responsibility. And, as the 1980s rock band Rush famously sang, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
Accepting the world as it is, and doing nothing about it, is a choice.
Knowing that children are starving to death, and doing nothing to help them, is a choice to keep the world as it is.
Knowing that people are being killed for nothing more than being the wrong skin color, or the wrong religion, or the wrong nationality, and shaking your head and walking the other way, is a choice to keep the world as it is.
Watching our own president repeatedly violate the rights of people both inside and outside our borders, and not speaking out against it, is a choice to keep the world as it is.
This is not Satan. This is us.
Satan is that which we refuse to accept – whether it is our own failures, whether it is other people who practice a different faith than we do, or whether it is what we have allowed to happen to our world. We are where we are – both personally and collectively – because of choices we have made, not because of a cosmic battle between good and evil.
If you want to change it, sponsor a child through the United Way, Save the Children, or some other charitable agency. Better yet, sponsor 100 children.
If you want to change it, make friends with someone who is different than you, and let the world know about it.
If you want to change it, find a child who is a lost soul, and give her or him someone to look up to.
If you want to change it, think about what you don’t want to acknowledge about yourself, and accept it.
If you want to change it, take responsibility for it. We cannot change what we claim does not exist – or what we claim is out of our control.
If every person who reads this does even one of these things, we can start changing the world. The world is where it is because too many people are doing nothing about it.
Speak out against what you believe is wrong. If other people don’t agree with you, then let them speak out against you. But do it peacefully and respectfully – violence and anger don’t get us anywhere.
And when you have wisdom, share it with the world. But do it in a way that elevates and respects everyone. God’s wisdom does not demean anyone.
And practice your faith in a way that celebrates God – where God is the best in all of us. Please do not make others wrong because they believe differently; God speaks to each of us in a unique way, and no one is in a position to judge anyone else.
Think of what the world would be like if we all respected each other, if we celebrated differences instead of trying to make them wrong, and if we reached out to help others who were struggling. What if the rich gave up even some of their luxury so that millions of people around the world could have enough food just to survive? What if the world’s religions accepted that each of them holds some of the truth, and that bringing their strengths and wisdoms together is the only way to truly find God? What if the strongest kids on the block took care of the weakest ones instead of bullying them? What if racial differences were celebrated as representing the rainbow of humanity? What if terrorists and warmongers (including the United States) realized that all they are doing is destroying their own livelihood, much like rioters destroying their own homes?
If you were looking at the Earth from outer space, how many planets would you be looking at?
I know this sounds like a silly question, but when you answer it, you’ll realize that all of humanity shares the same home. It doesn’t matter who is cutting down the rain forests, or who is testing nuclear weapons, or who is polluting the air and the oceans. It affects us all just the same. Blaming it on someone else - whether it's Satan or another country - ensures that it will go on unchecked. Think about what we can do to correct the problem.
If rainforests are being cut down to raise cattle to slaughter, think about your own eating habits - and how they contribute to the problems.
If fumes from cars and trucks are polluting our ecosystem, think about ways you can reduce your own driving.
If terrorists are threatening to destroy everything except themselves, think about what we are doing to create (and maintain) a world where everyone feels separate from everyone else. If we understood how interdependent we all are, and how much we need each other to survive, terrorism and war would not exist.
If our president is doing damage to our nation and our world that may take 50 years to undo, think about how he got into power - and how he has managed to stay there. He is violating the will of 75% of the American people. What would the Founding Fathers of our country say about something like that? Is he doing more to unite - or to divide - our citizens, and the world? And why are so many people - including the Congress who was supposedly elected to do something about it - standing by and letting it happen? Congress called an emergency session to approve the president's eavesdropping program, but they won't do anything about the war that has needlessly taken thousands of lives. Think about that for a minute. Is THAT why we changed over the Congress in 2006?
The only way we’re going to survive as a species is to band together. And the enemy isn’t Satan – it’s our own choices and our unwillingness to take responsibility for them. We got ourselves into this mess, and now we need to get ourselves out of it. Let’s get our act together, while we still have time.
It is because WE DON'T CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER.
When you read about a baby with leukemia, or children in Africa who have only dirty water to drink, or parents dying of AIDS and leaving young children to fend for themselves, or people being killed just because they are the wrong skin color or religion or nationality, what is your reaction?
Do you ever think that this world could be DIFFERENT?
Do you ever think that there is ANOTHER WAY?
Do you ever think that maybe there is another way to live besides being afraid of the person next door, or watching the person in front of you throw trash out the window of his car, or reading about how yet another terrorist wants to kill everyone who believes something other than what he believes?
Is THIS what God intended when S/He created us?
Some people have tried to convince me that God INTENDED it to be this way - and that Satan is responsible for all of the “bad stuff” that happens to us.
No, I say. WE are responsible. Satan makes for a nice scapegoat – but that is all he is: a scapegoat. What happens to us is a result of choices we make, both individually and collectively. Satan is just an excuse. The devil made me do it.
Let me say that again, just for emphasis. Satan is an excuse.
Consider these examples. Many Israelis think that the Palestinians are evil, murderous aggressors. Many Palestinians think exactly the same thing about the Israelis.
We think that Al Qaeda is out to destroy us and our way of life. They think the same about us.
Who is right here? Who is Satan in these examples?
The answer is both – and neither. Satan is the part of ourselves we don’t want to see and don’t want to take responsibility for. Psychoanalyst Carl Jung said this over and over again in his writings. It’s much easier to blame something outside ourselves for our failures. It’s much harder to take responsibility.
With every choice comes consequences – and with every choice comes responsibility. And, as the 1980s rock band Rush famously sang, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”
Accepting the world as it is, and doing nothing about it, is a choice.
Knowing that children are starving to death, and doing nothing to help them, is a choice to keep the world as it is.
Knowing that people are being killed for nothing more than being the wrong skin color, or the wrong religion, or the wrong nationality, and shaking your head and walking the other way, is a choice to keep the world as it is.
Watching our own president repeatedly violate the rights of people both inside and outside our borders, and not speaking out against it, is a choice to keep the world as it is.
This is not Satan. This is us.
Satan is that which we refuse to accept – whether it is our own failures, whether it is other people who practice a different faith than we do, or whether it is what we have allowed to happen to our world. We are where we are – both personally and collectively – because of choices we have made, not because of a cosmic battle between good and evil.
If you want to change it, sponsor a child through the United Way, Save the Children, or some other charitable agency. Better yet, sponsor 100 children.
If you want to change it, make friends with someone who is different than you, and let the world know about it.
If you want to change it, find a child who is a lost soul, and give her or him someone to look up to.
If you want to change it, think about what you don’t want to acknowledge about yourself, and accept it.
If you want to change it, take responsibility for it. We cannot change what we claim does not exist – or what we claim is out of our control.
If every person who reads this does even one of these things, we can start changing the world. The world is where it is because too many people are doing nothing about it.
Speak out against what you believe is wrong. If other people don’t agree with you, then let them speak out against you. But do it peacefully and respectfully – violence and anger don’t get us anywhere.
And when you have wisdom, share it with the world. But do it in a way that elevates and respects everyone. God’s wisdom does not demean anyone.
And practice your faith in a way that celebrates God – where God is the best in all of us. Please do not make others wrong because they believe differently; God speaks to each of us in a unique way, and no one is in a position to judge anyone else.
Think of what the world would be like if we all respected each other, if we celebrated differences instead of trying to make them wrong, and if we reached out to help others who were struggling. What if the rich gave up even some of their luxury so that millions of people around the world could have enough food just to survive? What if the world’s religions accepted that each of them holds some of the truth, and that bringing their strengths and wisdoms together is the only way to truly find God? What if the strongest kids on the block took care of the weakest ones instead of bullying them? What if racial differences were celebrated as representing the rainbow of humanity? What if terrorists and warmongers (including the United States) realized that all they are doing is destroying their own livelihood, much like rioters destroying their own homes?
If you were looking at the Earth from outer space, how many planets would you be looking at?
I know this sounds like a silly question, but when you answer it, you’ll realize that all of humanity shares the same home. It doesn’t matter who is cutting down the rain forests, or who is testing nuclear weapons, or who is polluting the air and the oceans. It affects us all just the same. Blaming it on someone else - whether it's Satan or another country - ensures that it will go on unchecked. Think about what we can do to correct the problem.
If rainforests are being cut down to raise cattle to slaughter, think about your own eating habits - and how they contribute to the problems.
If fumes from cars and trucks are polluting our ecosystem, think about ways you can reduce your own driving.
If terrorists are threatening to destroy everything except themselves, think about what we are doing to create (and maintain) a world where everyone feels separate from everyone else. If we understood how interdependent we all are, and how much we need each other to survive, terrorism and war would not exist.
If our president is doing damage to our nation and our world that may take 50 years to undo, think about how he got into power - and how he has managed to stay there. He is violating the will of 75% of the American people. What would the Founding Fathers of our country say about something like that? Is he doing more to unite - or to divide - our citizens, and the world? And why are so many people - including the Congress who was supposedly elected to do something about it - standing by and letting it happen? Congress called an emergency session to approve the president's eavesdropping program, but they won't do anything about the war that has needlessly taken thousands of lives. Think about that for a minute. Is THAT why we changed over the Congress in 2006?
The only way we’re going to survive as a species is to band together. And the enemy isn’t Satan – it’s our own choices and our unwillingness to take responsibility for them. We got ourselves into this mess, and now we need to get ourselves out of it. Let’s get our act together, while we still have time.
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